Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Looking back on the year... and new things to come

Highlights of my year include:

Interview with Jennifer Rardin
Twilight vs True Blood Debate: Here and Here
The premier of True Blood
Reviewing Bride of Casa Dracula before it was released

Plus.... reading a lot of great books. My tops include:
Charlaine Harris Sookie books
Kim Harrison Rachel Morgan Books
Marta Acosta's Casa Dracula Books
Jennifer Rardin Jaz Parks Series
Jennifer Armintrout Blood Ties

I would also like to mention that I should be doing a work presentation that I am giving on my vacation instead of blogging, but I felt I needed to update. I will be gone for a week or two because I am getting married Saturday! I've been super busy making sure we had everything ready for the ceremony and the reception, packing my apt and moving, and all sorts of fun stuff that goes along with the whole nuptial traditions. I am looking forward for it to be done with!

So on that note, I wish everyone a Happy New Year! Thanks to all my readers! See you next year!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I may not be able to write for a few days so I just want to wish everyone a happy holiday!
Make sure to check out my blogroll, there are a lot of great blogs out there!
Also, I still need your address Lori T!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Winner!


with the help of a random number picker. And number 3 happens to be LORI!


Thanks for everyone who participated and congrats to Lori!




Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Interview with Jennifer Rardin!


Jennifer Rardin, author of the Jaz Parks Books Series has taken the time for a little Q&A with us before book 5 – One More Bite, hits shelves January 5th!


For those who have not yet read the Jaz Parks series, could you summarize what these books are all about?


Jaz Parks is the daughter of a Marine and a department store checker who’s grown up to become one of America’s best assassins. Her boss, the vampire Vayl, is a combination mentor/partner who sees her potential even when she’s handing out smartass remarks like a Vegas-trained blackjack dealer. Together they work to rid the world of its most terrifying inhabitants—creatures so far removed from conscience that people have become less than insects to them.


One of the unique things in the Jaz books is all the different names for vampire relationships and politics. How in the world did you come up with all of them?


Like most of the words I invent, they either popped into my head (which is what I prefer) or I began with a root word from some archaic language like Latin and developed it from there.

Book 5 – One More Bite is coming out this upcoming January and I know so many of us are curious about the Jaz-Vayl relationship. Anything you can give away about what goes on between the two in OMB?

Let me just say that there’s a lot of heavy breathing going on during One More Bite—and not all of it takes place after foot chases!

Sounds exciting! I can’t wait! On your website you mention you are a lover of vampire stories, what are some of your favorite vampire books or authors?


I like the early Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake) books as well as Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series. And, of course, no list like this one would be complete without mentioning Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot or Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. I’m also a huge fan of vampire movies. I loved the Blade trilogy and Underworld, as well as Van Helsing, Queen of the Damned, and 30 Days of Night. Of those, Blade is still one of my favorites, because the vampire characters bring some oomph and originality to roles that are too often distant and emotionless. And I think even the undead should make you go, “Huh.” Or better yet, “Ha, ha, ha!”

We definitely have a lot of the same favorites! What do you think of the recent vampire craze?


I think it’s terrific that more people are introducing themselves to books like mine. My prediction is that they’ll find so much in urban fantasy to satisfy themselves that it will become as well established a genre as romance or mystery!


Vampire fiction has definitely gained a lot of popularity, along with all those sexy vampires. Vayl has entered into the category of “hunky vampire guys that women lust over,” do you have a favorite vamp?


When I first began this series Vayl wasn’t my favorite vamp. I secretly preferred Angel from the Buffy (and his own) series. Probably because Vayl was so hard to get my mind around, such a mystery to me every time I came to the keyboard. Which made writing about him really tough. Now, well into the first rewrite of my sixth book, I can say Vayl wins the prize. I guess he’s just the type that grows on you.

I think Angel from Buffy was my first big crush (I was quite obsessed), but moving on… Jaz is a kick-butt type girl. Are there any songs that you think would be on her mp3 player?


Absolutely! Here’s a sample (in no particular order):
Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down
Bodies by Drowning Pool
When You Were Young by The Killers
C’m On Feel the Noize by Quiet Riot
Good Riddance by Green Day

I think those songs are a perfect fit! I am looking forward to reading One More Bite. I heard that we get to see more of Jaz in the future, is this true?


Yes, I’ve signed with Orbit to do three more books in the series. The sixth book, Bite Marks, takes place in Australia and will be a key turning point in the story, moving them on to Morocco, and then…well, we’ll see from there, shall we?


I can’t wait! Thanks so much Jennifer! Do you have any last words of advice to those who are thinking about writing vampire fiction?


It’s tough to do something different in a field that’s nearly overflowing, but that’s my suggestion. Find a new twist, turn it another five degrees and make it your own.
Thanks Jennifer!

To those who haven’t had the opportunity – check out the Jaz Parks books 1-4 and don’t forget to preorder your copy of One More Bite!


And, if you haven't already done so, enter to win free jewelry and vampire goodies!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Interview on Wednesday with Jaz Parks Auther Jennifer Rardin and Enter to Win!

Wednesday we will be having a special interview with Jennifer Rardin, author of the kick-butt Jaz Parks series!

So make sure to check back in Wednesday! Also... if you are someone you know is a fan of vampire fiction the Jaz Parks books are great, plus number 5 is coming out January 5th!


Plus.... don't forget to Enter to win free jewelry and vampire goodies from Lulu McCleary!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Contest to Celebrate 100th Post (and because it's almost Christmas)

So in the spirit of Christmas and my 100th blog post... Free Stuff!

Enter to win unique jewelry and other special goodies from Lulu McCleary

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Maybe something from the online store, or maybe something specially made, plus extra vampire treats!

Perfect for a gift for yourself or a friend!

To enter:
Leave a note or email me what's something you like about this blog or something you would like to see on here.
Deadline December 19th at 8:00am
Winners will be choosen at random

Goodluck!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

New and Coming Soon

If you haven't already read it, Charlaine Harris' first chapter to Dead and Gone is up on her site. Read it here.

One More Bite - Book 5 of Jaz Parks comes out January 5th

White Witch Black Curse - Book 7 of the Rachel Morgan books comes out February 2009

As Shadows Fade - Book 5 of the Gardella Vampire Chronicals comes out March 2009

Dead and Gone - Book 9 of the Sookie Series comes out in May 2009

Skin Trade - Book 17 of Anita Blake Books June 2009

Royal Kisses - Vampire Kisses Book 6 comes out Summer 2009

While on Laurell K. Hamilton's site I saw this Penny Arcade comic posted on her news and updates. At least she has a sense of humor about it.

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'Salem's Lot

I have finally finished ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King.

Several years ago I attempted to read another work of King’s and I couldn’t get into it, so I never tried to read another book by him until now. I really had no desire to read the ‘Salem’s Lot but I figured I should give it a try because I have not read in months and I had nothing else to read.

SL is about a town of people who experience evil by way of a cursed house and a savage vampire. The story focuses mostly on Ben Mears – a writer going back to the town he spent his childhood at, to write about the old house that watches over the town. This old house has been abandoned ever since a man killed his wife and hung himself. Ben and the other residents, however, are caught off guard when an odd man comes to town to open an antique shop. Of course, it only goes downhill from there.

SL starts out by mysteriously describing a man and a boy in present time that use to live in Jerusalem’s Lot (‘Salem’s Lot). You aren’t quite sure what has happened, but you know that the town has been deserted and they seem to be on the run from something. The book then changes to several years past when the town was still alive and nothing bad had happened. The end of the book takes you all the way back to the beginning of the town’s founding.

The vampires in this book are not sympathetic; they aren’t sexy and mysterious and they don’t become adoring lovers. The vampires in ‘Salem’s Lot are evil. As you read, you also find out that maybe there is more evil in the town then just the vampires.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the writing and the suspense, even though it took me forever to read. The characters are diverse but similar in the way all small town residents are similar. Ben Mears, Callahan the Catholic priest, a young brave boy, and an old teacher make a great team and offer insight into the evil of the world.

The book ends with letters from the beginning so you don’t quite feel it is the end. I didn’t feel mad, sad, or happy with the ending because it didn’t seem like it had ended. I was left with more understanding, which left me content.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Twilight and True Blood or Twilight and Sookie Books

I thought I would take a little more time to blog about Twilight and Sookie because probably close to 80% of people who visit my blog through a search engine type a version of what I posted as the title of the entry, as you can see: (and this was just the top keywords, not each search. There are even hundres of more keyword searches that ask the same thing)

I had previously written a post about Twilight vs True Blood back in September, prompted by a letter written to TV guide. You can view the entry and the comments Here.

First, let me start by saying that True Blood the TV series can no way compare to the Charlaine Harris Sookie books. The books are way better and the show has quite a bit of differences. So when we do compare, lets stick with books not visual representations.

Second, everyone is free to their opinion, but you can't really make an informed descision either way about which one is better or claim that one copied the other, etc. if you haven't read both book series.

The first thing I want to compare, to clear things up, is that Harris did not copy Meyer:
Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer was published in 2005
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris was published in 2001.

Harris' books are about a mid-20 year old who has the intersting ability to read minds. She lives in a small town in Luisianna where nothing much happens, until she meets her first vampire. Vampires came out into the public several years ago with the invention of a synthetic blood called "Trublood" (hint the show name). Vampires are fighting for human rights, there are churches who are against them, Sookie can read minds, and she finds some other interesting beings along the way as well. She becomes romantically linked with Bill the vamp, bad things happen, and she ends up agreeing to work for a higher up vampire (Eric, who I love) to help solve different mysteries.

Not sure if it is even worth writing about Twilight, since the people searching for the similarities and differences are probably Twilight fans. I know there are a lot of Twilight fans who have been vampire fiction fans, but there are also a lot of Twilight (or Sookie) fans who are not familiar with vampire fiction or folklore and think that the similarities between the two means one has copied the other.

Here are some common vampire characteristics:
Reading minds
Mind control
"Tricking" people into believing things
Super-human (or inhuman) strength
Super speed
Rich
Immortal
Hyper senses
Sexy and dangerous
and so on.

I have never read a modern-day vampire book that didn't have some similarity to another, which is okay because they are writing about the same subject. Each author adds in their own version of a vampire, but it's still a vampire. Many vamp books have werewolves in them too, that does not mean one copied the other. They say that there are no original stories anymore, this is one of those cases that illustrates the point. Vampire authors may change how blood is taken, vampire abilities, reactions to humans, and other characteristics but it can never be wholly unique or else it wouldn't be a vampire, it would be some other creature.

There are some similarities between Trueblood and Twilight, or Twilight and Vampire Kisses (lots of similarites between those two) but that does not mean they copied each other. They all write about a main female character who falls for a vampire. Of course there are going to be similiarities.

For those of you who are curious about something more specific, feel free to email me or comment me. Since it seems like some many people are curious, I will be starting to reread the Harris books so I can do more in depth reviews of them on my blog.

And I will say it again, Harris did not copy Meyer - look at the facts.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

From "'Salem's Lot"

I thought this was a great excerpt:

Before drifting away entirely, he found himself reflecting--not for the first time--on the peculiarity of adults. They took laxatives, liquor, or sleeping pills to drive away their terrors so that sleep would come, and their terrors were so tame and domestic: the job, the money, what the teacher will think if I can't get Jennie nicer clothes, does my wife still love me, who are my friends. They were pallid compared to the fears every child lies cheek and jowl with in his dark bed, with no one to confess to in hope of perfect understanding but another child. There is no group therapy or psychiatry or community social services for the child who must cope with the thing under the bed or in the cellar every thing, the thing which leers and capers and threatens just beyond the point where vision will reach. The same lonely battle must be fought night after night and the only cure is the eventual ossification of the imaginary faculties, and this is called adulthood. (pg 276)

I also love the pictures that are in this version of the book

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Haunting Songs and Vampire Books

I am looking at a lot of lists and checking them twice for work, so naturally I have my right earphone glued to my head. It’s been a while since I had listened to some of my old playlists and it was quite pleasant to reacquaint myself with some of my all time favorite songs of a moment or a book. These songs I fell in love with because of a book I was reading, or it was just a perfect song for a book. Do you have any favorite book songs?

I love Jeff Buckley. His songs are beautiful and these two are absolutely haunting. These two songs I can actually listen to over and over again. I found them through Kim Harrison’s website under the playlist section (genius!). I loved Kisten from those books! Everytime I listen to Jeff Buckley I think about these books (and fantasize a little bit about Kisten – shhh don’t tell). When I listen to the music I get that happy dreamy feeling; yeah that sounds weird, but that’s how much I love his music; It moves me. Harrison’s next book comes out in February! I can’t wait to see what will happen next. These books were some of the ones that got me back into reading 1-2 books a day. I loved them!






And another one for good measure just because I love him so.


I was going to add more, but let's just leave this entry about Kim Harrison and Jeff Buckley.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Updates!

Charlaine Harris' new Sookie book is coming out this May 2009, and on December 12th she will post the first chapter! I can't wait! To see the new cover of "Dead and Gone" click here.

I've also finally found the time to read again, and I am half-way through 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King.

I also want to thank my readers who have nominated and voted for this blog over at Suburban Vampire. We are currently second to VampireWire (which is absolutely no suprise, it's a great blog!). There are 2 days left to vote if you haven't done so already!

Hope everyone had a happy turkey day!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Vote!

I didn't realize it, but Suburban Vampire has a poll for best vampire website on the side bar. Whether you vote for me (that would be nice) or not, go vote!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Good bye for now True Blood. I’ll see you distort book plots this summer

While still a loyal watcher, I was quite ticked off with the season one finale of True Blood. If you haven’t read the books then you may not want to read the rest of this post – it contains spoilers, or maybe not since the show is deviating so much for the books.

Show plot annoyances:
What in the world is the maenad doing? Why is she here early?
Jason turned himself in? (ok, not that bad)
Sookie was attacked in the day, and subsequently,
Bill became the man on fire in his lousy attempt to “save her” (this ticked me off the most)
Sookie isn’t beaten enough to land in the hospital for several days (which wouldn’t be so bad, but it makes certain events left out)
Eric doesn’t send Sookie perverted flowers, or show himself… because that happens at the hospital
Also, what is going on with Bill’s little vampire?
Why leave out the Eric interaction? Key situations are being left out!

Book 2 of the Sookie Stackhouse books, “Living Dead in Dallas” leaves a dead friend (which the finale hinted at) and a trip to Dallas. There is a lot of Eric interaction in book 2. He helps her out by fixing her up and by going to an interesting party with her. I hope they don’t screw up the Eric and Sookie interaction more than they have done so already. (What can I say, I’m Team Eric).

I am happy for Charlaine that the show is such a hit. I just wish the show would follow the book more - and that the show watchers who haven't read the books will pick up the book series. I guess we will have to wait until the summer to see how bad Alan Ball is distorting the series.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Christmas Gifts

Reasonably priced and unique jewelry from LuluMcCleary's Etsy. You might even support someone you know.




















Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Coming Soon

October 8th - there will be a short Sookie story in the anthology Wolfsbane and Mistletoe.
December 2008 - Usual Suspects is an anthology with a Charlaine Harris story.
Spring 2009 - Dead and Gone - Book 9 of the Sookie Stackhouse series. Eric's story will be told!


Book 6 of the Dark Ones Series- Zen and the Art of Vampires comes out Dec 2008.

One More Bite - Book 5 of the Jaz Parks Series is set to come out Jan 09 - Jennifer Rardin also just got signed to do 3 more books!


Bone Crossed - Mercy book 4 - More about werewolves but maybe the vamp who drives the scooby van will be back - Feb 2009

When Shadows Fade - Book 5 of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles is set to release March 2009

Curse the Dawn - Cass Palmer number 4 - Will Cass and Mircea finally get together? April 7th 2009.

Still haven't read the fairly new release of the 3rd book - Embrace the Night, which came out in April.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Is True Blood Going in the Right Direction?


Hope everyone had a great Halloween. Don't forget to send me your vampy pictures! Between wedding stuff, my car breaking down, my phone breaking, and all the other joys of life, I haven't taken the time to voice my opinions on the True Blood series (or much of anything for that matter).



Last night was a bit of a disapointment for me. I understand that the series needs side stories; the show would probably be a bit boring if it was just 100% Sookie and her thoughts, but when is it too much?


In the books Tara was never psychotic, Sam didn't seem so annoying, and Jason didn't seem like such an ass. Character personalities aside, certain events have raised my eyebrows a few times: Tara's mom being alive, Tara and her mom being possessed, Jason's new hippy girlfriend, and Jason and said girl friend kidnapping the vampire. Um... okay. It may be annoying, but I could live with some artisitic interpretation (I guess if I have to). This last episode seriously pissed me off though. Do you know what that was? Any guesses?












Bill had to stake Long Shadow!



It says a lot when Eric stakes Long Shadow, and it says a lot that Bill had to go New Orleans to become higher up in the vampire community so that Eric wouldn't take Sookie. Now Bill is gone because he has to go on trial? Please. I would have preferred it the way it was suppose to be. It seems that all but the first maybe, 3 episodes have wandered quite a bit from the books. I guess the basic plot, in it's most simple nature is still there, but there are important things that are being changed or left out.


I will still watch the show every weekend, but it is starting to be quite disapointing that it is becoming so different from the books.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to everyone out there!
What is everyone dressing up as tonight? I thought it would be appropriate to dress up as a vampire tonight... anyone else doing the same thing? I want to see pictures of you are someone you know dressed as vampires!
Maybe I will even post pictures of my costume!
Have a fun Halloween and be safe!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Fun stuff to spend your time and money on

Check out this vampy necklace from Collett's Treasures.


Want to vamp up your pictures in photoshop? Find some video tutorials here.


If you have hundreds of dollars to spend, this Fang Necklace is pretty awesome. Bittersweet makes other awesome things that are vampy, like these cool rings.



This isn't a vampire blog, but has some vampire stuff in it and is awesome.


Curious how to brush a vampire's teeth? Take a look at this instructional booklet.


I think Bencandace's Halloween Charm Bracelet is super cute.




Monday, October 20, 2008

Contest Pictures

In case you were curious, Wicked was the winner of the book contest and here is what she received:


Stay tuned for more contests and news!



Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Links and Such

Want to sleep in a coffin? Weburbanist posted some crazy hotel rooms and one of them is the vampire hotel room:

"Watching horror movies one has to be a little bit curious about whether it is comfortable for vampires to sleep in attic coffins. Now those who are so inclined (or who prefer partying at night and sleeping during the day) can experience this vampire room first hand at the Propeller Island Hotel." Their entry on abandoned buildings is pretty awesome too.


Might be interesting reading: Project Haunted House

Do you believe? Reports of sitings at Paranormal Database

Also, Vampire Wine is having a sale: 4 bottles for 55.00 (includes shipping)


Thursday, October 2, 2008

Bill and Eric and other Halloween Cookies (Tutorial!)



Here’s the tutorial on how to make these super cute Halloween cookies… or just Bill and Eric cookies.

First, I used THIS recipe to make sugar cookies:

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 2)
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt


In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Make sure your cookies are thick if you plan to insert a sucker stick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.




If you use sucker sticks (which allows you to do great looking cookie bouquets) carefully insert the stick before you bake.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.


While your cookies are cooling, you can start prepping your fondant. I had inspiration and some instruction from this fabulous cake blog recipe.


I bought rolled fondant at wal-mart. I believe it was around 5 or 6 dollars. It was in the wedding/baking aisle. While you are there, you may also want to get brown, black, and orange baking dye.


To make the vampires, you do not need to dye your fondant. Roll your fondant out like you did for the cookie dough, but roll it out as thin as possible! Cut out your fondant with the same cookie cutters:





To dye your fondant, you should probably wear gloves – especially if you are using regular food coloring. (I didn’t have any, so I slipped my hands into plastic sandwich baggies. Ghetto, yes, but it did work). But some drops of food coloring onto your glob of fondant and start mashing and kneading it until the fondant is all one color. This may make your fondant kinda sticky… I’m not sure what you are really suppose to do, but I “floured” my surface and rolling pin with powdered sugar. It makes the fondant kind of powdery, but it stops it from being an ooey-gooey mess.

Roll out your fondant very thinly and cut out with the cookie cutters.

When your cookies are cooled, make your ROYAL ICING. I used THIS recipe and kinda figured it out on my own.

Ingrediants:
Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (I didn’t have lemon, so I used lime)
3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

For Royal Icing with Egg Whites: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.
I beat my eggs until they were frothy:




Then added the powdered sugar and beat them until it was combined and glossy. – I guess the right consistency is when you drizzle the frosting into the bowl and it stays on top for 5 seconds.


I used both a bag with a piping tool, and a plastic baggie with a whole in the corner – both worked fine for me. I did the white frosting first.


First I put a think coating of frosting on the back of all the fondant pieces so that they would adhere to the cookie:



I stuck them on the cookies then I did the white details.
I piped the edges of the vamp cookies and did the whites of the Frankenstein eyes.


I then mixed small separate bowls of orange (for the pumpkins), green (for the Frankenstein’s), black (for hair, eyes, and mouths), and a little bit of yellow (for Eric’s hair). I put them all in plastic baggies. I finished the details of the other cookies and colors.


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My black kinda got a little funky…. Also, didn’t have brown dye, so I put brown sprinkles for Bill’s hair.
Ta-da!


Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Contest Winner!


The winner of When Twilight Burns Book 4 Of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason was randomly choosen.... and is.....
Erin! Congrats!


Monday, September 29, 2008

True Blood Episode 4

I've been super busy this week with work and wedding stuff and I have been neglecting this here blog. Today is the last day to enter and win When Twilight Burns Book 4 Of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason. I also have a few more vampire goodies to add to the prize! To see more rules and entries see this post.


So last night on True Blood we finally get to meet Eric (go team Eric!) and while I am happy that we will be seeing more of the hunky blond, I am not quite sure is Alexander Skaarsgard will be the perfect Eric. I am definitely willing to give him a chance though. I think he makes a better Eric than who they have for Bill, but that's just my opinion.



Every Sunday a group of us gets together to watch True Blood (because not all of have cable, let alone HBO - and it's fun). Last week, episode 3 "Mine" seemed to deviate the most from the books. This week there is quite different as well, mostly because the show follows several of the characters, not just Sookie. We are learning to put the show and books into different categories. We all loved the books, and the show is fun, but the books are still way better.


We got to see the iside of Fangtasia this episode - which seems a lot different then the books. From what I recalled, Harris' Fangtasia was Hollywood vampire themed - not leather and spikes themed...they played more adult contemporary rock/ classic rock in the books - but I do think the more "club"music for the show is better.

I found it interesting that they had this picture behind the bar...

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Not all blood suckers are vamps, eh?
I also made some sugar cookies of Eric and Bill (and other Halloween goodness) that turned out quite cute. I will post pictures and recipes when I get the pictures.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Contest Entries So far


Win When Twilight Burns Book 4 Of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason. I also have a few more vampire goodies to add to the prize!


Comment me or email me either suggestions of vampire books I should read (that I have not read yet) or a song you think would belong on a vampire playlist.


Contest will end Monday, September 29th.

Here are a few entries so far:

Songs:
Rev 22:20 (Dry Martini Mix specifically) by Puscifer
The Root of All Evil by Abney Park
We Ate Eachother by The Robot Ate Me
Oh Oh Oh Sexy Vampire by Fright Ranger
If I was your vampire by Marilyn Manson


Books:
Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith
Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
Vampire Beach by Alex Duval
Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck by Christopher Moore
Otherworldlies by Jennifer Anne Kogler
City of Bones series by Cassandra Clare
I am Legend (the book, not the movie!!) by Richard Matheson
House of Night series by P.C. Kristen Cast
Peeps and the Last Days by Scott Westerfeld
Vampire High by Douglass Rees
Raven Hart's Savannah Vampire series. First one is The Vampire's Seduction
The Historian

Friday, September 19, 2008

Vampy Tiger Army Lyrics

In the spirit of the Tiger Army concert I will be attending tomorrow, here are some of their lyrics that can be interpreted to be a bit vampy...


Lyrics to Santa Carla Twilight :
Watch the moonrise tonight
The ocean looms past bonfires alight
I am a stranger in this place
And when I see you, I can't turn away

Under this beach lie pirate bones
We stand above them, at long last alone
There's something different in your heart
You're not afraid of the darkness within us all

And we kiss, in the Santa Carla twilight
On the beach, under a Santa Carla moon
I am lost - but I've found you in my arms
And my heart is blacker than the dark ocean

Eternity... belongs to us
Eternally... lasts our love
If you want forever close your eyes and surrender to me
Just remember today was the last that you'll ever see the sun
In Santa Carla

Hear the song of night tide
It's been ages since I felt this alive
At long last I've found you and it ends
The loneliness we feel that they could never understand

And in this land beyond the dusk
A consummation of unholy love
Between two children of the night
As all time dissolves into a crimson dream

Lyrics to What Happens? :
you're walking in the night - you walk alone
the shadows whisper your name...
a stranger beckons you, like none you've seen
you can't ignore his request as he whispers, "come to me..."

i want to show you what happens when we die...
you take a chance and then it's too late when you realize
i want to show you what happens when
i want to show you what's happening
i want to show you what happens when we die

time has come to see beyond now - reach out take my hand
something inside beckons you...
a shiver takes you - delicious thrill
tonight's our destiny, so come and let it be fulfilled

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Contest! Win Free Stuff!


Win When Twilight Burns Book 4 Of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason. I also have a few more vampire goodies to add to the prize!


Comment me or email me either suggestions of vampire books I should read (that I have not read yet) or a song you think would belong on a vampire playlist.


Contest will end Monday, September 29th.


Good luck!

This Saturday!

I'm excited to see Tiger Army this weekend, so I thought I would post some videos!

This is one of my favorite songs of theirs... old video, but the song still is awesome:


One of their new songs:


The first song I heard of theirs:

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

One Quick Bite


All weekend I was gone on a retreat and I was (am) desperately low on books to read. So low, I read One Quick Bite last week. It was the only vampire book I had left in my book bag - plus it was overdue at the library. I was hesitant to read it – I didn’t want it to be one of those cheap and trashy romance novels. After all, Lynsay Sands did write these gems: (there are many more where these came from).

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I was actually pleasantly surprised with this book. It was a quick read, but it was fun too. Yes, it was romantic, but it wasn’t overly trashy. Sands’ take on the origins of vampires is pretty unique. The people of Atlantis were technologically advanced and made nanos that would cure their people of disease and make them genetically superior. These nanos are in the bloodstream and require blood as fuel. Since your body is constantly being damaged by the sun, chemicals, and God knows what else, these nanos have to be fueled semi-often. The oldest vampires are the ones that lived in Atlantis, but new vampires can be made by introducing the nanos into their bloodstream – which is very painful.

I thought the book was cute and funny and I will probably give the other one’s in the series a try.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Episode 2 of True Blood "The First Taste"

Although I was slightly disapointed with the True Blood TV series (it can't compare to the books), I still wanted to keep watching the series. I figured that it might get better as the plot goes on, as the characters start to fit in their roles, and we start to separate the TV show from the book. For going from book to TV, the story line is very close to each other. There are some differences though.

The biggest difference between the book and the show is the roles of Sookie’s brother Jason and friend Tara. I understand why the HBO made them more prominent characters though. The books center around Sookie – her thoughts, her actions, her everything. To make the TV show more interesting, there needs to be more prominent characters then just Sookie.

I really liked the grandmother when I first watched the pilot episode. I thought that HBO did a great job casting her. While I watch more and more of the series I am starting to dislike the grandmother more and more. To me she acts like she is not there all the way. She seems like she should be living by herself with 20 cats. In the books Sookie’s grandmother seemed to be a smart old fire cracker. In the TV series, the grandma is more concerned about Sookie and Bill together. In the book, Sookie’s grandma likes Bill and practically shoos them out the door to go on walk together.

My only two other gripes:
Bill doesn’t levitate in the show… why not? He does in the books.
In the beginning Sookie’s blood pattern on her face practically changed every clip – blood on her upper lip, no blood, blood on her chin, no blood.

Oh and one more….
What is up with the vampire with the swiveling eyes (see picture)? I don’t get it.

Even though the books are 100x better, I am still going to watch the series. It’s over-sexed and a little cheesy, but it is also fun. My friends and I are making it a tradition to get together and eat dinner and watch True Blood. Us girls make comments about the differences between books and movie, Marc complains that we are being too critical, and Nichole squeals about how cute Bill is. Even though we know what happens next, we look forward to watching another episode.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

New Releases and Coming Soon

The Bride of Casa Dracula is out! This is book 3 in the Casa Dracula series by Marta Acosta at Vampire Wire. You can read my review here.

Curse the Dawn - Cass Palmer number 4 - Will Cass and Mircea finally get together? April 7th 2009.

Still haven't read the fairly new release of the 3rd book - Embrace the Night, which came out in April.

Bone Crossed - Mercy book 4 - More about werewolves but maybe the vamp who drives the scooby van will be back - Feb 2009

When Shadows Fade - Book 5 of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles is set to release March 2009

October 8th - there will be a short Sookie story in the anthology Wolfsbane and Mistletoe.
December 2008 - Usual Suspects is an anthology with a Charlaine Harris story.
Spring 2009 - Dead and Gone - Book 9 of the Sookie Stackhouse series. Eric's story will be told!

Book 6 of the Dark Ones Series- Zen and the Art of Vampires comes out Dec 2008.

One More Bite - Book 5 of the Jaz Parks Series is set to come out Jan 09 - Jennifer Rardin also just got signed to do 3 more books!

Anita Blake movie and tv show? Laurell K Hamilton says:
"Yes, the rumors are true - a movie and a possible TV show based on the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter 16-book series is in the works. Stay tuned ... for updates and details."

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Twilight vs. True Blood

I had to take some time tonight to write an entry about Twilight versus True Blood.

Today I noticed I had some people click on my blog from searching about the two different shows. What pushed me to action, however, was the following letter to TV Guide magazine, titled "Blood Related?" -

I was reading about HBO'S True Blood and though: This show sounds an awful lot like the Twilight books. Then when I read the Roush Review [9/1], my thoughts were confirmed. Vamps? Mind reading? Small towns? Are you kidding me? How could no one else have caught this?! - Anais Villa, Maspeth, N.Y.

Well Anais, if you would have left some contact information, I would definitely be writing you some hate mail at this moment. When I read this I became quite enraged. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. First, let us examine the books these shows were based off of:

Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer was published in 2005
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris was published in 2001.

In no way did Charlaine Harris (or HBO for that matter) copy the Twilight people. If, dear Anais Villa, you did at least one simple Google search, you would have realized this. I might have excepted the argument that HBO was trying to get some of the vampire show profit, but not that True Blood is a copy of Twilight. If you have been following this blog, you know that I am a huge fan of the Sookie Stackhouse books... and I am not too fond of the Twilight series.

I will try and play devil's advocate though, and list some differences and similarities.

Similarities:
Human girl, hunky vampires
I guess we can put Anais' "observations" of small towns and mind reading
There are some werewolves (but only later on in the Harris series, not in the show)

Differences:
Twilight is aimed at a teenage audience
Characters are "high schoolers" in Twilight
Female character is very dependent on male vampire in Twilight
In Twilight, the mind reading is done by vampires, in True Blood, Sookie is the one that does the mind reading
Sookie doesn't want to become a vampire
There is also more sex and action in True Blood because it's audience is meant for the more mature
In True Blood, vampires are out of the closet and drink synthetic blood

These are just a few I feel like listing. If you are interested, you can write TV Guide at Radnor, PA 19088 or email at letters@tvguide.com. Include your name, address, and phone number. I think I will be writing them an email, I would suggest you do the same.

Any one out there have an opinion either way?

EDIT: Just wanted to let you guys know that I have a recent update to this post. YOu can view it here.

More Fun Stuff - For Halloween

I thought I would look around for more Halloween stuff, more is to come I am sure.
I think this wreath by Crafty Dame is super cute, plus it can be altered in all kinds of different ways if you wanted to make something similar:




I recently bought the 4 dollar teeth at Wal-Mart – they are not worth it. They are too big and they fall off easily. Definitely better than a 4 dollar mouth piece, but I would invest in something a little bit more expensive. Maybe this site has higher quality fangs (for about 12 bucks):


I might go for these:

Or pay the 75 cents for the heart box?

Arana Muerta has some pretty crazy Halloween props and decor that she's made. Check it out. Here are some things that were made:



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The apothecary jars would be easy to make for a Halloween Party - which is what fellow Craftster NyteRayn is trying to get ideas for in this thread. There are a lot of great ideas - check it out! Here's another link from the thread for Creature Jars:


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Another Craftster - Oohmybee's has done an awesome cemetary:


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This is also an awesome Halloween Party by craftster Sylvieonabun
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Craftster is one of the greatest sights ever, so definitely check it out... especially the Halloween Forum.